Around the Corner with John McGivern

usic) We are in the largest city in Dodge County on Highway 33, also known as Front Street, this is Beaver Dam. (upbeat music) (girls singing) Hey, we're in Beaver Dam, so there is only one place we could meet John Gurda. Guess where? Yeah, the dam. Hey John! How ya doin'? So we're in Beaver Dam, I see the dam. Now where are the beavers? Their descendants, John, are still swimming around here someplace. Oh they are. But it was human dams like this one that really began things here. When the first white settlers came back in 1841, they found high ground all around us, and it was at the foot of a huge marsh. And a little river kinda left the marsh right here and just downstream were a few creeks that beavers would dam, which is where the name came from. (water rushing) The water power is what those Yankee settlers were after, and they put their first dam right here back in 1842. It took a year for enough water to back up to drive machinery, and all the land here was so flat that the dam created a lake that was more than ten miles long and only five feet deep. So there are places you can almost walk across Beaver Dam Lake. -

John M.

Yeah. What industry came up below the dam? They began with the necessities. So first of all you had a sawmill for lumber and a gristmill for flour. The surprising thing is where Beaver Dam went from there. There were some really ambitious industrialists here and they built two more dams downstream almost like beavers, and each one had its own town with its own industries. And you had the cotton mill right here, later on a shoe factory. And downstream were plants that made farm machinery, Monarch stoves, iron castings, and lots of other products. And some of those got really huge. There was one malleable iron plant here back in the early 1900s that had 1500 workers. That's more than most Milwaukee plants had. -

John M.

Wow! So this was a factory town? Not entirely, John. Dodge County has really good farm land, so Beaver Dam, as the county's largest city, became an important trading center for farmers, and it also developed some important farm-based industries, especially cheese making and vegetable processing. And did they use the lake? They did. It's a little ironic that a dam built for industry was creating a lake used for recreation. This is the 16th largest lake in Wisconsin. -

John M.

Wow! -

John G.

And early years it was a lot of excursion steamers and whole fleets of canoes. Today it's still great for boating. Because it's so shallow, winter kill can be a problem, but there's still excellent fishing here. Education in town? One of the major landmarks here is an unusual private school. Back in 1855, the baptists founded Wayland Academy as a college prep school. Still here, still a college prep school. Now it's non-denominational and it has students from a dozen states and almost 30 countries. And it's campus really resembles some of the colleges we've visited, like a Ripon, or maybe a Beloit. -

John M.

Is that right? -

John G.

Yup. Let's talk today's economy. Most of those old industries are gone. The cotton mill here is now apartments, but I'm pretty sure Beaver Dam's the only place in Wisconsin where you will find a cheese factory across the street from a foundry. Talking about the Kirsh Foundry and the Kraft cream cheese plant. So you have two mainstays of the Wisconsin economy, dairying and manufacturing, they're still mainstays here in Beaver Dam. -

John M.

Population? -

John G.

About 16,000. Little over a half German, but also 8% Latino. -

John M.

And the location? -

John G.

Pretty easy. We are in south-central Wisconsin, about 40 miles northeast of Madison and about 70 miles northwest of Milwaukee. Yeah, it seems like a pretty little town, doesn't it? It really is, it really is. I've enjoyed being here. Thanks John. See ya, John. There's a great story in Beaver Dam. McKinstry's Home Furnishings, which is a furniture store that has been in business for 161 years. It's the oldest family-run business in the state of Wisconsin. And what did they sell 161 years ago?

Two things

cabinets and coffins. I guess it was all about storage, yeah. Water Technology Incorporated. What are we talkin' about? We are aquatic planners, designers and engineers, from back yard to water parks. We are a full-service aquatic construction company. So we specialize in swimming pools, water parks, municipal recreation facilities. This is kind of a model Y. This design with the two different pools in two different areas is very popular. We have this competition pool here. -

John

Two things

Yup, that's the leisure pool with the lazy river? Hey guys! I'm going in in a minute. So Neuman Pools was the original company that started. All right, and Neuman Pools started as a swimming pool contractor. This was your dad that started this? This was my dad. My grandfather, he had a plumbing shop, and my dad and my uncle all grew up in the plumbing business. -

John

Two things

Here in Beaver Dam? -

Chris

Two things

Here in Beaver Dam. -

Nick

Two things

So this is where the vision and the program will be pulled together. The sizing, the capacity, pool architecture, all focus on water, the pools, the entertainment element. -

John

Two things

Is there a typical project for you guys? I wouldn't say there's anything typical. So you look at, you say, "This is a very simple pool," right? It's a rectangle. We just draw the rectangle and put it on there. But to hit the right standards for competition, for programming, and for the needs of the coach, for the needs of a university, this is a very complicated pool to put together. So we have people here who are specialists in sports swimming. -

Chris

Two things

Because of the amount of theming that goes on with it, is you have to figure out how to structurally and safely make these projects work to match a theme. -

Nick

Two things

And the two must work together. So whatever gets dreamt up or envisioned, has to be engineered. -

Chris

Two things

It doesn't matter if it's a back yard swimming pool or a water park. They're all important to us and they all get the same attention and they all go through the same process. -

Nick

Two things

I think it's the magic when you see a project go from paper to an engineering set of drawings to full construction, like watching that transition, really gives you the bug and the passion to stay in the business. -

Chris

Two things

I think that we build fun and entertainment. That's what we provide to all of our people. We never got past the blow-up, just so you know. (Chris laughing) So John Gurda, he found the dam. Look what I found. The beaver! Oh was sewing as a kid. You can see I've got my Badger stuff. Mike's right here. -

John

Two things

In one of your coats. Yup, in one of the coats, yup. (zipper unzipping) Here we go. And those are individual squares all squared together like a quilt. (marching band music) -

John

Two things

Can you tell a story on how 27 years ago it started for you? -

Lois

Two things

Mike was looking for a seamstress because the gal that he had before wasn't getting them done in time for the band. And so I had done my daughter's and a couple of her friends'. They asked me and I said no, I didn't wanna do it, y'know. So then the following year we had the same situation, and I said, "Well okay, I'll try. "It's just hemming pants." Just hemming pants? -

John

Two things

Right! And then in spring he came and he needed a new sequined vest. I've never worked with sequins before, y'know (laughing). How am I gonna do this? He says, "Oh, you'll learn." So I learned on the fly. I have sequins flyin' all over this joint. And this is all embroidered. I lay it all out on the computer. Wow, look at this. The back alone took four hours to sew out. And I think this one has about 12 or 1500 crystals in here. Yeah, I make the tuba covers also. Oh you do. Yeah, yeah. And so they signed one-- Who was making them before you? They didn't have any. They didn't. (both laughing) (marching band music) -

John

Two things

How long was Mike in that position? -

Lois

Two things

Fifty years. -

John

Two things

Then he retired. -

Lois

Two things

Yeah, yeah. And when he retired I said, "I've done it for 27, enough is enough. "I'll retire with him." -

John

Two things

Was it a great relationship? -

Lois

Two things

Oh yeah, yeah. I had fun working with Mike. -

John

Two things

Did he say, "This is what I want." Or did you draw something up and say, "This is what I think you should have." -

Lois

Two things

No, we always collaborate. -

John

Two things

You did. -

Lois

Two things

Yeah. -

John

Two things

How long did this take you? -

Lois

Two things

I probably have about a hundred hours in. -

John

Two things

A hundred hours? -

Lois

Two things

Yeah. -

John

Two things

Each coat? -

Lois

Two things

Yeah. -

John

Two things

This is your plain and simple? -

Lois

Two things

Yeah. This is his final jacket. -

John

Two things

Oh it is? -

Lois

Two things

Yeah. -

John

Two things

So last season was your last at UW for the marching band? -

Lois

Two things

Yes. Are you missing it already? You know, at first it didn't affect me. But it hit me at the first home game all of a sudden. When I saw the band out on the field I thought, "Oh, my kids are out there. "I didn't do nothin' this year." It didn't hit me until then, y'know. I'm so doggone busy with so many other things, y'know. I thought you were retired. Yeah, I'm supposed to be. (both laughing). This is a great alleyway. Each of these characters have a story. Yeah, I'm gonna be him today. That's John Gurda! John Gurda, rule number one, where's your helmet? We're at the home of Philadelphia Cream Cheese. This is Kraft. Before camera rolled I was shocked to find out that it's not from Philadelphia! -

Beth

Two things

No, it's not. -

John

Two things

It was not made in Philadelphia first. No, it was actually, cream cheese was invented in New York, and Philadelphia was actually just a brand for top-quality food products. -

John

Two things

Long history Kraft has here in this-- -

Beth

Two things

Oh yeah, yeah, 91 years. -

John

Two things

91 years, that's remarkable. -

Beth

Two things

We have trucks that deliver our milk and our cream from our local dairy. It runs three shifts, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. -

John

Two things

How many people work here? -

Beth

Two things

A little over 200. And there's a lot of dedicated employees here. I've been here 40 years now. I run the pasteurizer. The cream comes from the silos in the intake and it'll come up here. Do you get cream cheese for workin' here? Goes through our pasteurizer at a high rate of speed. Goes zippin' through these coils here. We might have a sample for you. Do you think? Goes to the tank and it's separated into the cream cheese in probably 18 hours. Take the sample off of here. We take it inside kind of a snapshot of where it is right now. The old experienced guys used to be able to taste it. Really? And tell if it's-- That's not what we're gonna do though? We're not gonna do that. Okay. -

Jim

Two things

Put that underneath the spout there, do a little math on the calculator. It says almost done. That was (laughing). Here we go. You can see it's good, I think it's doin' well. No, I think you're almost done here. Oh you think so (laughing)? We are in packaging. And you have been with this company how long? Forty one years if I can make it til October 12th. Is this where we pick 'em up? Yes, we're gonna put in the shippers-- -

John

Two things

The shippers. That's the case that the cream cheese bricks go into. We're like family down here. -

John

Two things

How nice. I get to work with my brothers and sisters, I love it. That's really nice. It just stamped it up. -

Lois

Two things

And then the date goes on. -

Beth

Two things

The amount of local dairy farmers that we impact and the financial impact it has on our community, we're glad to be here and be part of it. Wow, this is like candy. Mm hmm. Yeah, you can just eat it with a-- Who needs a cracker? Nunatak. No, it's not what you're thinking. It's a Greenlandic term that means "landmark". Could be a term that means gathering space. Inside an old depot, good coffee, it's cool. This is one of 17 murals you will find in downtown Beaver Dam. And these murals reflect important people, places, and things in the history of Beaver Dam. And they were painted by the Walldogs. If you don't know the Walldogs, you should Google them. I love this kind of morning. -

John

Two things

It's kind of a bit of heaven, isn't it? -

Ruth

Two things

It is a bit of heaven. -

John

Two things

We're talking with Jim and Ruth Metz. This is your home on the lake. -

Jim

Two things

And I used to bicycle along this road dreaming about maybe someday havin' a place here. -

John

Two things

You were in medical school, went to vet school, and then you decided you were gonna move to Beaver Dam? I was just a solo practitioner, so I was on call 24 hours a day, 365. Then I met her at the clinic, so. He couldn't afford to hire me, so he had to marry me. Is that right? Is that how it works (laughing). It seems to have worked out just fine. It has. We'll just go out, we'll get in the boat and we'll just cruise along the shoreline. Maybe take a beer with us and drink a beer slow. We just love this community. We would recommend any young family to come and raise their kids here. Good location for us. -

John

Two things

What is Animart? -

Ruth

Two things

Animart is a company that we started that has veterinarians. But we became a distribution business. -

John

Two things

We heard that you're really committed to making sure that downtown continues and becomes better and lives. Can you talk about your commitment? -

Ruth

Two things

We realized Beaver Dam was having its problems, and the best thing we could do for the long term of our business is to focus on the community and see where we can help with the downtown, to make sure that Beaver Dam continues to be a good place to grow a business, raise a family. Now we own Ooga Brewing Company. -

Jim

Two things

We did it really because we had done research and craft breweries are one of the best catalysts for downtown revitalizations, and we didn't have a craft brewery and people had been talking about it. So it's like, okay. -

John

Two things

It brought some business downtown, didn't it? -

Jim

Two things

Oh yeah, absolutely. -

Ruth

Two things

We have a great beer garden, so it's a nice place to gather. So it's already been a catalyst. Beaver Dam has been so smart in reuse of property. This used to be a cotton mill, and there's a shoe factory on the other side of town, both are now residential. Reuse, revitalization. Smart. We are at Wayland Academy with the Head of School, Joe Lennertz. So it was really rare back then to have a coeducational boarding school, wasn't it? Absolutely, yes. We're the only non-religious, non-military boarding school in the state. So it is a pretty rarefied atmosphere. This is the underclass boys' dormitory. -

John

Two things

And it's a beautiful, beautiful campus. -

Joe

Two things

Thank you very much. We take great pride in it. We were founded by the local baptist community in 1855. -

John

Two things

Is there a religious affiliation now. -

Joe

Two things

No, we're nondenominational right now, but we still have a chapel. We meet in here for assembly every Monday morning. We're college preparatory and the curriculum is really based on the liberal arts. Meat and potatoes, a lot of writing, a lot of math, a lot of language, all kinds of things that really need to get the kids to the next level. -

John

Two things

When you graduate what's your hope? What are you gonna do? I'm thinking about something to do with literature because I love writing and reading a lot. -

John

Two things

Where do you think you'll go after this? I really don't know, but I know Wayland is definitely gonna help me get to that point. -

Joe

Two things

It's a graduation requirement. Actually they have to be accepted into a college or university. -

John

Two things

That's called 100%! That's 100%! This is another one of those main areas that students cross. -

John

Two things

Student population? -

Joe

Two things

About 190. We're a boarding and day school. -

John

Two things

Where are your students from? -

Joe

Two things

All over the place. We have students from five states and then 27 different countries. From freshman to junior year I was a day student, but I'm a prefect now so I live on campus mostly. I'm pretty much gonna miss the friends that I made here and the faculty friends that I made. It's really hard for me. -

Joe

Two things

The benefit really is not what actually goes on in the classroom, it's what goes on on the playing fields and what goes on in the dormitories, in the cafeteria, meeting people, building those kinds of relationships. Come to Wayland and meet the world. -

John

Two things

In Beaver Dam, Wisconsin. -

Joe

Two things

In Beaver Dam, Wisconsin. We are in Swan Park. This park was donated by Dr. Swan, who owned it since 1876. He was a homeopathic healer. And in this park there was a lagoon and a boathouse and a bathhouse and a beautiful pavilion reminiscent of what it looked like when he built all of this stuff. It's really an incredible park. -

Linda

Two things

We started in the popcorn business in 2002. We've been full-time popcorn peddling, my husband for 18 years and myself for about 14 years. Hey welcome! What are you havin' today? A large Beaver Dam blend? Sure, oh it's the best. We have the coated creations. Blue cheese is fun, bacon cheddar. These are all of our popcorns with chocolates and nuts. My husband was a chef and I was a restaurant manager. We were introduced to kettle corn and we ate the whole six-foot sack and we just said, "Why not do that? "We're tired of the restaurant business." Back here is where all the magic happens. Most every day we have some form of production that we're doing. Sugar, brown sugar, and butter. And what you just put in there is going to cover this? Yes. And then the popcorn goes in. Not every single kernel will be coated the same. So our caramel, our cheese, most of our savory popcorns, all of those are recipes that we developed. But as this starts to cool down, it'll get louder as I'm moving this around. Do you like warm caramel corn? Sure, care to join me? (Linda laughing) Yeah, hold on one second, I'm almost done. No, I'm not new here. She called you a pop star, do you love that? I love it. -

John

Two things

That's good! It's the best job ever. What do you generally do? I package popcorn, seal 'em, and stack the shelves. Are you ready? -

Linda

Two things

But we have people that come to us and they are like, "We have had kettle corn "all over Wisconsin. I usually have 'em down here, yeah. I moved it, hold on. -

Customer

Two things

I don't know what you do, but yours is the best. Great to see you. I'll be here next time. Beaver Dam blend, thanks. I have two sisters, Colleen Mary-Margaret and Maureen Mary-Margaret and we go places. There are places that remind me of my sisters, like this place, Twisted Sisters. No, not because of the name. It's because the shop is so nice, that's why. Mm hmm. -

John

Two things

Michael, we're in Beaver Dam. -

Mike

Two things

We are. Home of the Golden Beavers. And we're talkin' girls' basketball, John, and it's one of my favorite stories of the year. Tim Chase took over this program 15 years ago and the first three years they won 9 games. In fact the second year they didn't have a win. And boy, things have changed, John. Three straight state championships. They're only one of five schools in the state, in the history of the State of Wisconsin, the girls' side, to win three in a row. It's just an incredible team to watch. They start it on the defensive end. They don't have a player that averages more than 14 a game, so everybody participates. They have no cuts. You want to come out and play, come out and play. (crowd cheering) 'Cause you talk about feeder programs. Is there a feeder program in this? There is, and the whole community. And it started with Tim going to the grade schools and doing shooting camps. Good. Because when he got here, they could play a little bit of defense, but they had a hard time shooting. -

John

Two things

How big a school? -

Mike

Two things

A thousand kids. -

John

Two things

Division? -

Mike

Two things

Two. Last year had six division-one players on it. Three have graduated and moved on, three are still in the program. And last year they were ranked number 10 in the country. -

John

Two things

Do you think they're gonna do well this year? I do. I think they're gonna do really well. They're used to winning now and they understand that the bullseye's on their back. But three years in a row is incredible. Well we wish 'em luck. Yeah, you bet. Thanks Mike. Thanks John. - Good story. I am excited. I'm here at the Beaver Dam Area Community Theater. I'm here to see a show. Guess what show I'm here to see? Annie. It's a hard knock life for us -

Scott

Two things

Our mission is to provide performing arts. -

Annette

Two things

It started In 1964, this is our 55th Year. -

Scott

Two things

We wouldn't be here today without the passion and the dedication of the people that came before me. -

John

Two things

Did you have any clue that this is where it would end up? We had no clue, but we always had faith that it would continue and build. And we wanted this, of course, but it was subconscious at that point in time (laughing). -

John

Two things

Was it? -

Annette

Two things

Yeah. -

John

Two things

That's how dreams come true, though. -

Annette

Two things

Exactly, yup. N-Y-C The people that love theater are coming here and they're auditioning and they're being part of it. You can just see the passion and the drive and the joy. (upbeat music) -

Rick

Two things

We chose this over a year ago and we've been workin' on it non-stop. I like to push for a family feel, and I think Annie struck that right to the T. N-Y-C It's definitely a work of passion. I was up back there pounding holes in a wall for the light booth a year ago. And I'm like, "This is not gonna be a theater. "There's no way." And then we walk into this. It was such an honor to direct a show in this. It's fantastic. -

Scott

Two things

This was a Catholic school and this was the gym. We had to do some major improvements and changes in order to make it work. -

John

Two things

This facility can touch any professional theater anywhere. -

Rick

Two things

We have all of the technology that comes with it, the light system, sound system. Everything that you could ever ask in a theater, we've got it. -

John

Two things

It could not have been done without the support of this community, I'm sure. -

Scott

Two things

We've raised a little over $2.9 million, and it was all privately funded. It's a hard knock life. -

Annette

Two things

We are really assured that we are going to be a magnet to help redevelop the downtown, or revitalize the downtown. -

Scott

Two things

It's a facility that should be providing joy for generations. Life This is the Dodge County Historical Society and Museum. It was formed in 1938. It was formed really to preserve anything about the pioneer days and the very early history of Beaver Dam and Dodge County. Beautiful old building, the old library. Do you know what's in Beaver Dam while I'm in Beaver Dam? The Dodge County Fair. This is prime real estate. This is where everybody wants to be. I started in ops, the operations of the fair, and it's kind of like an addiction, you know? I just wanna be part of a fun event. We sit on about 75 acres. -

John

Two things

And planning-wise, what's the toughest to really make sure happens? -

Dale

Two things

Getting good entertainment. Trying to get a good value for the people, something that's popular and yet affordable. Fifty thousand attendees is our average. Our record is about 55,000. Howdy! -

John

Two things

So you've been coming to the Dodge County Fair your whole life? -

Kennedy

Two things

I have, my whole life. -

John

Two things

Is it a blast? -

Kennedy

Two things

It is. So this is definitely a new way to experience it though. What kind of responsibility does the Fairest of the Fair have? During this week of the fair, we have to just promote the fair. Get out there, talk to the people. Incorporate the youth and just try to really educate people about what the fair's all about. These are the regular beef steers, the beef cow that I've been familiar with for my entire life. I showed beef cattle for seven years here. It's definitely a special thing, and I'm really looking forward to supporting those new youth that are taking the place of us who have aged out. -

Dale

Two things

These youth exhibitors, they're the experts. I have these ones, I got seconds on these. This guy got seconds. That's a chicken? That's a chicken, yeah. -

John

Two things

What kind of chicken is that? It's called a Light Brown Leghorn Bantam. So what you look for is like the dark golden hackle. -

John

Two things

If you're showing poultry, is it always chickens? Nope, poultry consists of chickens, ducks, geese, pigeons, all kinds of stuff. -

John

Two things

Do these end up being like pets almost? Almost. See, some of the chickens here are designed for meat, some are designed for eggs. Most of the chickens here are designed for exhibition, for showing purposes. -

John

Two things

What are you looking for? When I'm lookin' at him, I'm looking for broken feathers, feather color and that stuff too. I was also looking at eye color. So it won. Yup, so now he'll go up for best bantam. I won a couple years ago with one just like this, so hopefully I do well, same breed. And is this guy gonna win? I have no clue. We're hopin'. Hopin'! Okay this is pretty cool. This is called the boardwalk. The only way to get from Beaver Dam to Edgewater Park without leaving Beaver Dam is to take the boardwalk. Unless I took the lake. I could have gone, I guess I coulda done that too. We're at Palenque Bar and Grill. So what does Palenque mean? It's a temple, temple Mayan. That's why I picked the name because my father he been there many, many times. Oh good. - He got a lot of friends-- So in honor of your dad? Yeah. This is traditional Mexican food. This is ceviche. This is one of those traditional dishes in Mexico. Everything is fresh. -

John

Two things

Is this a family-run operation? -

Andres

Two things

It's family-run, yes. -

John

Two things

Who else works here family-wise? My mom, my brother, my sister, my brother-in-law. Okay, this is the hot sauce, tomatillo. Tilapia tacos, it's tilapia, grilled tilapia in a flour tortilla with a pico de gallo too. (slow jazzy music) Yeah you eat it the right way. Avocado salad, is good. And I love the fact that this is not a fried tilapia. No, is grilled. It's grilled. All of this furniture, who did this for you? Hand made. All of the tables and chairs come from Guadalajara, Mexico. Chimichanga Acapulco. Three meats inside, chicken, steak and shrimp. Oh, full of that? Full of that with cheese sauce on top. And this is the best dish of the house. This moca hete date back for a hundred years ago. -

John

Two things

What is a moca hete? -

Andres

Two things

It's a unique dish. It's a stone bowl with this chicken, steak, shrimp mixed up with a poblano sauce and cheese sauce. Is this really hot pepper? Mm-- - Hot enough? Hot enough, yeah, exactly. Steak. -

John

Two things

Shrimp. You like spicy sauce? Little bit. Try a little bit. Mmm. I could eat this whole thing.

Beaver Dam sure got their slogan right

life here is good! We are here with Mayor Becky Glewen. How are ya? I'm great. Good to see ya. Good to see you too. So we love your town. Oh, thank you. And we have a job for you. You have 30 seconds to tell us why Beaver Dam, Wisconsin is the best place in the world to work, live and play. And Mayor Becky, you can start now. John, Beaver Dam is a beautiful, welcoming community centrally located in what we feel and believe is the triangle of opportunity between Madison, Milwaukee, and Green Bay on Highway 151. We have so many great things happening here. New hotel, lake front condos, senior and multi-family housing being built. As well as new business start-ups happening. We actively recruit new entrepreneurs and innovative people to come to our community to bring their talents here. We are the best place in the world to live, work, and play. -

John

Beaver Dam sure got their slogan right

You are done is what you are! -

Becky

Beaver Dam sure got their slogan right

No, no! I'm excited, I'm here at the Beaver (clearing throat) (laughing) -

Director

Beaver Dam sure got their slogan right

All right. (John laughing) Y'know I can hear him, I can hear him just giggling. I was there, that was good. You wanna know how many work here? I'd like to say about half of 'em. (John laughing) Beaver Dam's been a great town to visit. And we wouldn't be able to visit here without the incredible support of our underwriters. So underwriters, thank you so much. Thank you. -

Female Announcer

Beaver Dam sure got their slogan right

The Greater Milwaukee Foundation's Ernest C. and Florence M. Schocke Fund. And by the David A. and Nancy E. Putz Fund.

The Greater Milwaukee Foundation

inspiring philanthropy, serving donors, and strengthening communities, now and for the future. -

Male Announcer

The Greater Milwaukee Foundation

Michels Corporation. Serving the energy, transportation, telecommunications, and utility industries.

Michels

constructing North America's infrastructure for our future. -

Female Announcer

Michels

WE Energies Foundation and Wisconsin Public Service Foundation are proud to support public television. Together we create a brighter future for the communities we serve. ATC moves electricity from where it's generated to communities where it's needed.

American Transmission Company

helping to keep the lights on, businesses running, and communities strong.